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If you have followed Beards of Denver for a bit, or if you are familiar with either beard or craft beer culture, you now know well that there is often a direct correlation between a bomb-ass beard and an excellent craft beer. Based on that cardinal knowledge, you won’t be surprised that we met Tony Drewry (left, pictured here with Will Golden, Head Brewer at Austin Beerworks in Austin, TX) at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in October. Tony, who is an independent craft beer consultant across the state of Texas, was visiting our fair city for GABF from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. His beard is just over three years old, but he’s had some iteration of facial hair for all his adult life, including goatees, mustaches, and mutton chops, but we must say, we favor his beard. Tony hails from a long line of Baptists and moonshiners, which we hear are both huge appreciators of the beard. Additionally, all of Tony’s sweethearts have appreciated his beard, and he assured us “Hell, even my mama digs it.”To care for those precious locks, Tony washes, conditions, brushes, and even applies a bit of Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Argan Dry Oil for good measure. Even with all this primping, occasionally he does experience “bed beard” (think bed head, but on your face), but when his beard gets that wild he’s able to braid it to keep it in check. Regardless, Tony’s beard always smells fabulous (we have no doubt). When asked if strangers fondle his beard without his permission, Tony said he does occasionally get confused with other men who are part of the bearded brethren brotherhood, and he even has a name for these folks: “Beardists” (no comment as to whether the Beards of Denver ladies would qualify for this label, but we’ll take it as a compliment if so). Tony stressed that Beardism is “not a laughing matter” and has noticed over the years that a big, beautiful beard does seem to fascinate a huge spectrum of the populace and garners loads of, mostly humorous, comments. He did say if he ever hears another “Duck Dynasty” reference “It will be too soon.”Tony’s family, on the whole, loves his beard. His 10-year-old daughter dictates his facial hair growth and her most recent instruction was for him to grow his beard to his waist (we can’t wait for the progress report on that)! One of his nephews once wore a fake beard to Tony’s birthday party, and his very young nephews and nieces find solace and comfort in his beard. Tony’s favorite story about his beard is when his nephew Parker was three years old, he asked Tony how he grew his beard, and Tony told him, “Kid, I get up every morning, look at myself in the mirror and let out a seriously manly grunt.” About a week later, Tony received a text from his sister that read, “Well, I hope you’re happy. Parker was trying to grow his beard this morning and shit his pants,” Tony told us “I laugh every time I tell that story.” (That may be the best beard story we’ve heard thus far as well!)Besides growing an awesome beard and working in the craft beer world, Tony is also the Co-Founder/Art Director at lemonjuice.us. He works with the Texas Tavern League and is the co-pilot of The Beerliner (which we were lucky enough to experience in person). Tony also sings and plays banjo, guitar, jug, and kazoo in the band Shotgun Friday, which plays hill hop music and is the official unofficial band of Texas Craft Beer. We’ll be sure to try and catch them next time we’re in the Lone-Star state! Tony put it best when he told us that truly, “Beards make the world a better place.” We couldn’t agree more. You can follow Tony on Twitter at: @BeerPedaler

You’re especially lucky today, Beards of Denver loyalists, because we’re bringing you a beard that will make you breathe easier–literally and figuratively. We met Mark while we were awaiting entry into the Great American Beer Festival in October, and we couldn’t have been more pleased to make his acquaintance. Mark started this version of his great beard journey in October of 2012 when he lost his job, but he’s had a beard the better part of the past 12 years (as you can expect, Mark is quite the wise man). Mark, who now works at the Pima Medical Institute teaching in the Respiratory Therapy department, has been growing his beard ever since he started his gig there last year, and his boss is one of his biggest supporters. His wife and daughter, however, are not exactly fans of his beard, which, of course, we find astonishing. Mark says that doesn’t deter his dedication to his beard growth, it just means a little less lovin’ from his sweetheart. If you look closely, you can see Mark braided the pretzels into his beard for GABF, which is his own handiwork; his wife wouldn’t help him as a form of protest. Even with her dislike of his manly mane, their marriage is going on 14 years strong! We hope his beard has at least a little to do with that great success. Mark, who lives in Highlands Ranch, says he gets lots of comments on his beard, especially from other bearded brothers “It’s like a beard fraternity,” he told us. One we’d proudly pledge, Mark! We hope all those pretzels came in handy at GABF.